


Kuroko's Basketball: Second Half

by lil_fubsy



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Characters as Adults, F/M, Future Fic, Gen, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I love this stuff that's why, Major Original Character(s), Near Future, Next Generation, Original Character(s), Other, Why Did I Write This?, guilty pleasure of mine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 13:04:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19210015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_fubsy/pseuds/lil_fubsy
Summary: After being informed of his mother's illness, Kuroko Tetsuya's son forms a plan to compete in a street ball tournament as a means to earn money for his mother's treatment. There's only one problem with his plan...Kuroko Shouta didn't know the first thing about basketball.That, and he was going to need a team. Five complete strangers agree to help him in the tournament, only for him to find out later that these five kids were the kids of his dad's former teammates: The Generation of Miracles.It's an ironic turn of events that leads to a new era of talented players.





	1. The Shadow of a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> If you're looking for something where your favorite pairings (say KagaKuro or something) are married in the future and stuff of the like, then this isn't the fanfic for you. This fanfic is stocked full of original characters, and I know that that's not for everyone. When I came up with these characters, I wanted to challenge myself to make it be as much like the story of Kuroko no Basket as possible, while still incorporating my own ideas effectively. So, while I am very aware that a lot of people don't enjoy this sort of thing, I figured that if I really enjoyed this sort of thing, then, surely, someone else out there would too. I know I was always looking for a KNB Next Generation story (or whatever else you want to call it) just to see what other people thought of, and always found nothing. So, here's my contribution.  
> So, if you end up reading this, I really do hope you enjoy it. And if not, it's chill. I take no offense. Just tell me what you think. Is it what you expected? For better or worse? I wanna know. And if it is really bad, just know that I'm really lazy and just want my fanfics somewhere where I don't have to pull up my laptop just to read it. It's just how I roll.  
> Ok sorry, I'll stop. Enjoy the fic (I hope)!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prologue
> 
> Teiko Junior High School was known for putting out one of the most talented group of basketball players in all of Japan, better known as: The Generation of Miracles. Undoubtedly a powerful group of kids, they went on to compete at rivaling schools, performing some of the most intense and entertaining games during their high school careers. Their skills were so prodigious, that many believed that they would go on to play for the NBA, as they deserved to be.  
> But that isn’t what happened.  
> It had been twenty years since the talented group of kids graduated from their respective schools and moved on with their lives. People wondered where the memorable players were today, as no other player had even established the skills that the Generation of Miracles had developed at a young age. After high school, there was no talk of the players, and conversations ran dead with open ended questions.  
> So, what had become of the infamous Generation of Miracles?

 

              It was a bright and beautiful morning. A slight breeze was blowing, the cherry blossoms had blossomed, and the sound of giggling kids echoed through the streets. A boy walked amongst the kids, all dressed in uniform. A sea of white and blue, he easily avoided the many rowdy students as he walked past each and every one of them.

              Dressed in a white sweater and a blue undershirt, matching the crowd, the boy fiddled with a 3x3x3 Rubik’s cube as he walked. A rounded face with big, round eyes to match, light, almost white, blue hair fell slightly in his face. His hair looked as if it was recovering from a bowl cut mistake. He pushed his bangs out of his face, only for them to fall back, resulting in him adjusting his black, wayfarer rimmed glasses. He heard the warning bell ring and rushed to get to his first class.

              Shouta Kuroko was a quiet individual who preferred to stay out of people’s way. He didn’t enjoy much physical activity and preferred to be in his own little bubble of comfort. He didn’t have many friends, mainly because he didn’t make much of an effort to make friends because everyone seemed to forget about him anyway. He went from one class to the other, all day every day, being mistaken for being absent almost every single time. Until one day…

              “Shouta Kuroko.” Shouta lifted his head in reply to his teacher.

              “Yes?” He said curiously. The teacher looked around the room in search of the kid, along with various other students, causing Shouta to raise his hand and call out a little louder. “Yes?” He called out again. The teacher saw the hand and mouthed an _ah_ as he continued.

              “You’re to go to the office. You’re being signed out.” Shouta blinked curiously.

              “Signed out?” He thought to himself. “I wasn’t told I was being signed out.” He didn’t question it much further though and grabbed his stuff to prepare to leave. Nearby students eyeing him as he left.

              Once he had all of his stuff, he made his way to the office. When he arrived, he saw his father standing there apologizing to the lady at the front desk. Knowing his dad, he probably scared her unintentionally. He tended to do that; he was practically a ghost. When he saw his dad turn to him, he could tell that something was off.

              “Shouta, you’re here.” He said in his usual monotonous voice. “Come, we have to leave.”

              “What’s wrong?” Shouta asked immediately, sensing the nerves and urgency of his father, even though, to the naked eye, he was rather uninflected. They left the building and approached Kuroko’s car. At this point, Shouta knew that something was terribly wrong. His father preferred to walk instead of use the car. The car was only for emergencies. When they got in the car, Kuroko made no hesitation to start the car up, leaving as quickly as possible.

              “…dad, what’s wrong?” He repeated, hoping to get through to his usually calm and collected father. He saw his father take a breath.

              “I got a call at the school…your mom’s been taken to the hospital.” Shouta’s eyes widened at the news.

              “The hospital?” He repeated Kuroko’s words. “Why? Did she fall?”

              “I don’t know. The neighbors found her on the floor inside. She didn’t sound great, so they say. They drove her to the hospital, and then they called me. Said that I should be there as soon as I could.” He saw the worry on his father’s face as a drop of sweat trickled down his temple. Shouta worried too, but instead of showing it, he reached in front of him and placed his hand on his father’s shoulder. His father grabbed it in return.

              She was going to be okay. 

              They arrived at the hospital and the two were directed in the direction of their respective mother and wife. When they reached the floor that they were directed to, they saw their neighbors waiting on a bench. Kuroko approached them with a grateful smile, thanking them for what they had done. They insisted that it was no big deal and that anyone would’ve done it. Shouta looked around the hall as the adults talked.

              Everything was bright white: piercing. It was harsh on the eyes, Shouta blinked more than he would usually. The space seemed rather empty. Were they not in a usual hospital wing? He turned his head to see if there was a sign around. There was one, above the entrance way, that read, _“Diagnostic Center.”_

              It felt like hours before a doctor exited the room. Shouta didn’t even realize that his mother had been in the room next to them all along, but that thought passed his mind as everyone stood to face the doctor approaching. Worried faces plastered on every one of them, the doctor approached Kuroko, asking if he was the woman’s husband. Kuroko nodded. He then turned to Shouta, seeing the similarities between Kuroko and the child.

              “I would like to speak to you privately.” The doctor said, still looking towards Shouta. Kuroko blinked, and the neighbors got the memo. They took the child and walked him out of the room, while the doctor and Kuroko walked in the other direction.

              “Poor thing, I do hope she’s alright.” The older woman said as she faced her husband, the both of them continuing to walk Shouta out of the room. The husband nodded.

              “Yes, she didn’t look too well.” He confirmed. “Let’s hope it’s something miniscule.” When they thought that they were far enough away, the two turned to face each other, and then the kid. “Don’t worry, Shouta. I’m sure everything-where’d he go?” The adults searched frantically for the boy, but with no luck. He was right behind them before! Where could he have possibly gone in that short amount of time?!

              Shouta ran back into the room and ran through the halls. He had to find his dad, he had to know what happened to his mother. They weren’t going to keep him out of it.

              Searching every room, he finally saw a flash of blue in his peripheral and peeked through the cracks of the door. There he saw his father standing, along with the doctor that had exited the room that his mother was in.

              “Your wife claims that she’s been bleeding much more than what the average woman should. Is that something that she’s told you?” Shouta saw his father stiffen, becoming a bit apprehensive.

              “No, she hasn’t. I’ve asked her about it on some occasions, but she’s always been abnormal. She always said that that’s what it was.” Shouta cocked his head and squinted.

              “Abnormal bleeding?” He asked himself while pushing up his glasses. “People don’t bleed normally….do they?” He thought back to all of the people he had ever been in contact with and couldn’t recall a single one where they stated that they bled on the daily. That must be something that he would’ve noticed, right? He was in middle school; he was sure that this was something that he should know. Figuring he’d find out later, he went back to spying on the adult’s conversation.

              The doctor handed Kuroko a clipboard. Kuroko took it, and flipped through the pages, making sure to read every inch of them.

              “We performed a few tests on her just to be sure.” The doctor told him as he looked through the pages. “These were the results that we got.”

              Shouta saw his father slowly getting more and more worried as he got towards the end of the papers. By the end, he saw his father’s observant and worried expression change to that of disbelief, shock, and fear. He looked to the doctor with hopeful eyes. Shouta had never seen his father with such an expression.

              “Please tell me that this isn’t what it is.” Kuroko pleaded, holding the clipboard tight. The doctor said nothing in response. Shouta saw his father shake, and when he looked at his eyes, saw tears forming. Shouta’s eyes widened in response. This seemed so out of character for Kuroko.

              “She’s not too far along.” He heard the doctor say. “There’s still treatment options available.” Kuroko lifted his head with a hopeful look.

              “How much for it? I’ll do anything.” Kuroko asked. The doctor handed him a premade sheet of paper. Kuroko scanned over the sheet, and Shouta could visibly see his heart sink. “….sixty-thousand?”

              “A month.”

              “A month?!” Kuroko clenched the paper in his shaking hands. “Are there any other options?” He saw the doctor shake his head.

              “I’m afraid not. _Cancer treatment_ is quite expensive I’m afraid.” Shouta froze, every other natural sound ceasing to exist to his ears.

              …Cancer? His mom had cancer?

              No, that couldn’t be. It just couldn’t.

              Feeling unnerved, Kuroko turned to the side to spot his son staring through the ajar door, with wide, disbelieving eyes. The doctor followed the eyes of the other and squinted. He didn’t know what Kuroko was staring at. And looking so fearful too. It was like he’d seen a ghost.

              The next few weeks were rough. Kuroko made no hesitation to tell Shouta what was really going on. He had already spied on the conversation and he was old enough to know what it was. His mom was diagnosed with cancer, that much was true. Stage two endometrial cancer. Shouta didn’t necessarily know what that type of cancer was, but what he did know was that the cost of treatment for it was too high for them. For his father. Sixty thousand a month was a lot, and Kuroko openly admitted to, possibly, not being able to pay for it. He said that he wasn’t not going to try of course. Kuroko, along with his teaching job, found another job at a local convenience store. With him having two jobs now, Kuroko was gone from early in the morning to super late at night. He never got the required amount of sleep anymore. When Shouta asked what he could do to help with that, Kuroko shook his head. He said that there wasn’t much that he could do, and that as long as he kept working hard in school, then that was all that he could ever ask for. It was such a parent thing to say, and it didn’t leave Shouta feeling satisfied at all.  

              The days went by unbearably slow. A simple walk through the hallway felt like trudging through a muddy trench. Minutes felt like hours. Every sound that had become so normal to hear had become muddled and indecipherable. Arriving home to have no parents there was pure agony.

              Was there really nothing he could do?

              The following day was grey and dreary. The wind ceased to give life to the dead air, the luscious pink hue of the cherry blossom petals had become a murky grey tone, and the giggling sounds of kids translated as wonky wavelengths with no origin.

              Shouta was approached by many of his teachers that day, all of them asking if he was okay. It was surprising that the boy who was never noticed or seen was suddenly being approached by the people that ignored him. He supposed it was easier to see a walking corpse than a ghost.

 No one knew the news, it was not something that he wanted to share; couldn’t share.  It was so sudden, too fast. There was no warning, no preparation, and definitely no worries that lead up to it. His mother wasn’t that old, she was still considered young in the elderly’s eyes. Now, his mother was stuck in the hospital with a cancer that she shouldn’t have, and his father had taken up two jobs just to make sure that they had money to spend for treatment. And he was stuck doing nothing but the same routine.

It was torture.

As Shouta walked home that day, he spaced out thinking about the last few weeks. The last few days even. It was the same stuff that kept getting repeated in his head: Mom, cancer, dad, work, money, jobs, bills, _nothing, useless, unhelpful, poor excuse of a son._

Shouta found himself wandering to a nearby park instead of home. What was the point? His parents weren’t there anymore, his dad always came home later. He would’ve just been alone anyway. As he walked through the lifeless park, dim lights leading the way, he turned his head to see something he noticed.

It was a basketball court. Lying on a hill, draped in the faint luster of the moonlight. He walked towards it, entranced by its simple features. The door to the fence had been broken off long ago, so he invited himself into the enclosed space. Stepping onto the court hit him with a distant memory. His parents had taken him here before, at this very park on this very court. It was past supper time, and the sun was leaving its colors behind as it dipped behind the horizon line. Shouta was only four at the time, and his father was excited to show him the ropes of his favorite sport. Shouta had been too distracted and simply couldn’t grasp what the meaning of the bright orange ball was. His mother sat on the bench wearing her oversized, ivory cardigan that she so often wore. A pleasant smile graced her delicate features as she watched her two boys waste the day away. Kuroko had stopped trying when Shouta grew disinterested and settled for rolling the ball across the pavement.

“Don’t look so defeated, Tetsuya.” She had told his father. “He’s only a boy. He has yet to realize the joy that it gives to others, and the joy it will give to him in return. And if not, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind playing a few games with his dear father. I know how much it means to you.” Her soft, angelic voice rang like music in his ears. When the memory was cut short, Shouta stared off into nothing as he tried to remember more. Feeling his face stiffen and contort into a frown, he removed his glasses and walked towards the pole of the basketball hoop. His head connecting to the pole, and he let his tears run down his cheeks as he slid down to the pavement completely defeated.

“What do I do?” He wept to himself. As if on cue, the wind picked up and a stray piece of trash hit him and stuck to his face. Flinching slightly, he grabbed at his face until he got a hold of the trash. It was a piece of paper. Not just any piece of paper, it was a flier. Rubbing at his eyes, he put his glasses back on as to read what was on the sheet.

A Streetball Tournament, starting in June. _Bring your teams and compete with other skilled players across Japan._ All ages are welcome. Submission price for each team is two hundred, championship will be held in Osaka in July.

Now even though he was reading this, he held little to know interest in it until…

    “Grand prize a hundred thousand?!” He voiced to himself, his eyes going wide. A hundred thousand? That would pay for close to two months of treatment. Shouta gripped the paper in his hands.

He knew what he was going to do.


	2. Transition Color

Shouta brought the flier home with him and looked over it again and again while sitting on his bed. This flier appeared miraculously; it was as if it had answered his call. This basketball tournament was two months away, would he actually commit to it? He squeezed the paper in his hands: _he had to._ This was the one thing that he could do to help his parents, this was his chance, there was no choice in the matter. There was only one problem with the whole situation.

Shouta didn’t know the first thing about basketball.

Not only that, but he needed a team. He didn’t play basketball, so he didn’t have a team. What did that mean for him? That he had to get enough people to commit to this tournament with him while also doing it in the right amount of time so that they could practice before they compete? Sounds about right. Well wait, his dad played basketball, he could just ask-

No that wouldn’t work. His father couldn’t know about this, this tournament costed money and would be considered too risky, considering he had never played the sport. His father would say something along the lines of letting him deal with it, because his father had a problem with asking people for help. He would rather figure out how to do it himself and not let anyone else worry. This had to be kept a secret. Shouta was going to commit to this whether his father liked it or not.

However, that doesn’t solve the issue of him not knowing how to play and not having anyone to play with. He sighed, looking down at the paper.

“I need at least five players.” He told himself. “Including me, that’s four more people I would need. Bare minimum. The more the better, I suppose.” He put a hand to his chin. “How am I going to find enough people in such a short amount of time? I don’t have many friends, if any, my presence is close to none, thanks dad, and I’m not super athletic by any means.” He groaned. This is something that he wanted to do, but it was going to be a pain to prepare for it.

Then a thought struck him.

He attended Teiko, Teiko Middle School, who was known for their basketball team! There were over a hundred members, surely a few of them would want to participate in the tournament. That was a great idea! Why didn’t the idea pop up before?

He sprang up from his bed with a smile on his face. For the first time in a while, he was excited for the next day. He prepped his bag and actually set his clothes out for the upcoming day. He was going to do this thing. He was going to be adamant about this.

The next day came quickly, and Shouta walked with a purpose heading off to school. For the first time in a while, the sun shined brightly on him, and the commotion that had died off came back full throttle. Even with warmth coming back into view, he was still distracted, but not by his inability to help his parents. His notebook was in hand, as was the flier, and he was planning out, or attempting to plan out, what was necessary for the tournament. He had written down the two-hundred-dollar admission fee, he could see what he had saved up for that, four extra players, if he could get more then more power to him, and he himself would need to start practicing. From what he researched, there were five main positions in basketball: Point Guard, Small Forward, Power Forward, Shooting Guard, and Center. So, he would at least need one of each? It would be best if he could, but it doesn’t help that he doesn’t even know what position he’d play. He’ll just have to dabble, he supposed, and do a lot of studying.

The day dragged on, as per usual. He tried to recall members of the basketball team and realized that he knew none. Attending some of the games would have been beneficial in this case. When he tried to ask others about the team, he was completely overlooked and ignored. He knew that it was because his presence was lacking and not because the people were being rude, however.

Thanks, dad.

He heard the final bell ring and his heart sank. No way it was already the end of the day! The day seemed so long for him! He sighed, defeated.

“I guess I’ll just have to try again tomorrow.” He admitted, making his way out of the classroom reluctantly. “That’s an entire day wasted. Why’d I have to inherit dad’s lack of presence? That makes this so much harder.” As he was making his way outside, his eyes darted to a girl who walked past him out of his peripheral. He didn’t think much of it until a lingering thought reminded him, “She’s one of the managers for the basketball team!” She was probably heading off to one of the practices now!

He had to catch up to her, get her attention. Without a second thought, he hurriedly jogged up closer to the girl. This was a chance he couldn’t let slip away!

Shouta didn’t know many people, but this girl was one of the only people he knew. He didn’t know her personally and he had never talked to her, but everyone knew who she was. Her name was as recognizable as her raspberry red hair.

“Nanami!” He called out a little louder than he usually would. To his surprise, the girl stopped and turned over her shoulder curiously. This was the first time today that someone realized he was there! Shouta paused as he looked upon her, catching his breath. Nanami Akashi was truly a sight for sore eyes. She stood at the same height as Shouta, five feet and one inch to be exact. She stood with composed posture, never slouching. Her body was dainty, even appearing very princess like with her arms held in front of her. Her skin was like porcelain, her eyes a bright red, matching her hair, and her eyelashes were so long, they appeared fake. Her hair was quite long, but she pulled her bangs back neatly into a small ponytail. A half up, half down look. She left people awe-struck whenever she walked by, and Shouta was no exception. A polite smile grazed her features as she turned completely around to face him.

“Yes, how may I help you?” She asked him in a very professional manor. Shouta couldn’t get himself to look away, even though he was telling himself to. The anti-social part of his mind was freaking out because he was attempting to talk to someone up front, but the other part of his mind was freaking out because he was talking to a girl, and that girl just happened to be Nanami Akashi. While Shouta froze up, Nanami cocked her head to the side, looking at Shouta curiously. “…Did you need something, or….? Because I do have somewhere to be. I’ll ask you to make it quick if you do.” Nanami’s sentence snapped him out of his thoughts, and he cleared his throat while pushing up his glasses bashfully.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to, I just kind of, um, froze up.” He apologized with a slight tint of pink on his cheeks.

“That’s quite alright.” She said adjusting her posture. “You wanted to speak with me?” Shouta stood up straight at the mention. It was now or never.

“Oh, yes! Um, well, you may deem this unimportant, but it’s about the basketball team…kind of?” He pushed his glasses up again just to give his hands something to do. Nanami nodded, listening full-heartily to Shouta’s statement.

“Alright. Ask away.” Her smile never left her face, and Shouta couldn’t help but appreciate that. Adjusting his glasses once more for good measure, he reached into his bag and pulled out the flier.

“Well, you see, I’m trying to form a team to compete in this tournament, and I wanted to ask if you could see if anyone on the team wanted to join.” He offered her the paper and Nanami took it carefully. She looked over the flier, and then looked to Shouta a bit perplexed.

“I didn’t take you as the athletic type, no offense.” She spoke honestly. So it was that obvious, huh? Shouta looked off to the side, avoiding her gaze.

“Well, I’m not.”

“Then why do you want to compete?” His plan didn’t seem to click with her, and that made sense because it barely made sense to him. His only reason for doing this was for the money, and that sounded horrible! But his mom needed help, and he was going to help his parents in any way that he could. Nanami didn’t need to know all of the details. That stuff was private and personal, and he had only spoken to her once, and that was right now. Shouta looked to her pleadingly, making Nanami pause.

“Please, this is important to me.” Shouta said, showing some vulnerability towards the girl. Nanami appeared guilty while looking at the boy’s puppy dog eyes. She didn’t know this boy personally, she hadn’t even talked to him until now, but she knew the difference between someone who was trying to play a trick and someone who was serious about what they were saying. This boy was truly earnest. She looked to the side in thought, and after a minute or two, she looked to Shouta with a genuine smile.

“I’ll do my best.” She told him, straight forward. Shouta smiled both from relief and at the girl’s genuine kindness.

“Thank you very much.” He thanked her with a bow. Nanami shook her hand in front of him in a way that shows that his bow was unnecessary.

“It’s really no problem at all.” She said, a bit embarrassed by his action. “I’ll let you know what the players have said as soon as I can. Could I have a name so that I know how to address you?” Nanami Akashi was actually asking for his name! Wow, what a day this was!

“My name is Shouta Kuroko. You may call me Shouta.” Nanami smiled at the introduction.

“Shouta? It’s a pleasure. I am Nanami Akashi.”

“I know who you are.”

“I know, but introductions are a crucial part to meting someone formally.” Shouta mouthed an _ah_ as he watched Nanami look over her shoulder. “I must be going now. It was a pleasure to meet you, Shouta.” She then waved goodbye as she turned on her heal and walked away. Shouta’s action was delayed as he slowly waved goodbye. He couldn’t tell if that went well or not, but he assumed it did. Feeling a huge weight being lifted off of his shoulders, Shouta turned on his feet and began to leave the building.

On the other side of the school, making their way to the main gym, Nanami looked over the flier once more. This tournament was…quite the investment. The amount of games having to be played were the equivalent of an entire season shoved into a few months. This would be a huge tole on an unprepared body. This was something for experienced players. So why was Shouta, someone who had never shown interest in a sport, wanting to compete in this so badly? Nanami shook her head. It wasn’t any of her concern on why. She was just told to ask the team if anyone was interested.

Entering the gymnasium, she witnessed the many members of Teiko’s basketball team warming up and preparing for practice. Avoiding the court, she walked around to the other side where two other managers and the coach’s stood.

“Nanami! I almost thought you weren’t going to make it!” One of the managers, a girl named Hachi, commented exuberantly. Nanami simply smiled as she placed her bag near the bench.

“Who do you take me for, Hachi-chan?” She joked, without changing the calmness in her voice. Not wasting any time, she turned to the head coach. “Excuse me, coach?” The head coach turned to her. “I have something I would like to announce to the players before practice officially begins. I would like your permission to do so.” The coach didn’t question what exactly Nanami wanted to announce. She was a responsible child and didn’t have a reputation for messing around and causing trouble.

“Of course you can.” He granted her permission and she bowed in thanks. Not a minute later, he blew the whistle and everyone in the gym turned. Practice was officially about to start. “I want everyone’s attention!” He called out to the players. “Everyone, front and center!” Everyone there went from the middle of the court to straight lines in front of the coaches. The head coach went to speak. “We’ve got a practice match to prepare for next week, so expect this to be a long practice.” Groans were heard but were immediately silenced by the vice. “Before we get started, Ms. Akashi has requested to make an announcement. I want everyone to listen.” He gave the floor to Nanami, her bowing in response, and suddenly, all eyes were on her. Not feeling intimidated at all, she did what she promised to do for Shouta just moments ago.

“I was approached by a fellow Teiko student, who asked me if I would bring something to the attention of the team.” She held out the flier. “A streetball tournament is being held during the month of June, and this person is seeking out people who are interested. Basic information includes having at least five members on one team, admission price for said team being two hundred, and that the winning team receives a grand prize of a hundred thousand. If anyone is interested and would like more information, speak to me after practice.” She then bowed in thanks for the people listening to her, and then the coach blew his whistle again.

“Alright, ten laps around the school. Go!” All of the guys sprang into action and sprinted out the gym doors to begin their laps. The managers went to prepare water bottles for when the guys got back.

Practice ended with everyone downgrading to a sweaty mess, a gymnasium that smelled of body odor, and all doors left open to air out the musky space. It was time they cleaned up, and head home as soon as possible.

Nanami made herself busy with a mop, going up and down the gym, but she was actually anticipating when someone would approach her asking about the tournament. With each passing minute, she grew more and more nervous. The amount of people that remained in the gym lessened with each minute. Nanami stopped in her tracks. Could they have simply forgotten? It’s possible. Her announcement wasn’t the most important announcement that could’ve been announced. Regardless of that though, it made her feel sad. Her mind kept darting back to one of the last things that Shouta said to her.

_Please, this is important to me._

He had said it so pleadingly, with so much want, so much need, how could she not accept? And the face that came with it…it tore her apart. It was the look of someone who was on their last leg, who had no other choice.

Someone who knew that this was their last resort.

Nanami didn’t understand it in the slightest, but the emotional pull he had on her was massive. How could a stranger have this much of an effect on her?  

“Something bothering you, Nanami-chan?” Nanami flinched and turned around quickly to see a guy who had put his hands in the air in false defense. Nanami breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Maeda-senpai.” She breathed with a hand to her heart. “Nothing’s bothering me, but thank you.” Seiichi Maeda was a starter, power forward, and captain of the basketball team. He stood at 5’9’’, a bit taller than Nanami, was a very slender, but toned individual, had straight hair the color of slate, with grey eyes that were reminiscent of a dead fish. His personality was very lively, however, and was a senior that Nanami respected. He was respectable, trustworthy, and kind hearted, and always kept his team in check. Out of every member on the team, he was the one she was closest to. Perhaps part of the reason why was because her and Maeda had attended the same schools since elementary. They never spoke, because they were in different grades, but they recognized each other’s faces. In fact, Seiichi Maeda was the one who convinced her to become a manager for the basketball team.

Maeda cocked his head as he took the mop away from Nanami, stating that he would get the rest of it.

“Thank you, Maeda-senpai.” Nanami thanked as she looked around the gym. She sank into a gloomy state when she realized that the majority of the team had left. Maeda saw this and turned in worry.

“Really, what’s got you looking so down?” He asked her. Nanami sighed and pulled out the flier that was given to her, gazing at it. Maeda connected the dots and sighed. “No one came, huh?” Nanami shook her head no. “I’m sorry, Nanami-chan. But the truth is, this isn’t a regular tournament. If this was something that I knew would be for fun, no expenses or lengthy dates involved, I would’ve joined. But this tournament is a legit competition. There are consequences attached to it. The people that will be competing in this are, like, all star basketball players. Adults most likely. They know what they’re doing and have played with the team that they have for years. _That’s_ what this tournament is.”

“I’m aware of that.” She stated in melancholy, putting the paper away. “I was just hoping that a few of the players would have some interest. Considering how much everyone raves about loving the sport, I’m a bit disappointed that no one stepped up.” She sighed while walking over to the bench where the rest of her stuff laid. “I didn’t want to let him down.” This caught Maeda’s attention, and he put the mop away hastily.

“He? Who’s _he?”_ He asked quick walking over to Nanami. She turned to face him with a rather blank expression.

“His name is Shouta Kuroko. He’s the one that asked me to introduce the tournament to the team.” She looked down, feeling guilty and disappointed in herself. “I really wanted to give him some good news. He was really wanting me to help him out…I just couldn’t say no.” Maeda didn’t know what expression to put on, but settled for a rather nervous looking smile, even though that wasn’t his intention.

“Well, you can’t help _everyone,_ Nanami-chan.” He started to say, sweat dripping down his brow. “Especially with something like this. I mean, he only asked you to spread the news! Not to come back with a whole array of players! So really, you’d still be fulfilling your promise.” Nanami hummed at the senior’s statement after processing the sentence carefully. Maeda awaited her response, not knowing what the outcome would be.

“…I suppose you’re right.” Nanami replied. Maeda released a sigh that he was very much aware that he was holding in. “But still…” Maeda held his breath again. “I wanted to give him something. Some sort of good news, he looked like he needed it. I don’t know why, because, you’re right, I could just tell him that no one’s interested and move on. But, on the flip side, he came up to me looking so desperate that I…how can I just tell him that over a hundred players were not interested? I almost don’t want to face him with that fact.” Maeda put his hand on Nanami’s shoulder, Nanami peering up in response.

“Nanami-chan, like I said, you can’t help everyone. You tried, you did, this _guy_ will just have to think of something else to get people to be a part of his team. You don’t have to feel sorry for him.” Nanami gave a week smile and politely removed Maeda’s hand off of her shoulder, replacing it with her backpack.

“Thank you, Maeda-san, for listening to me. I must go now, however. My parents don’t like it when I leave the school so late. My safety worries them.”

“Then let me walk you home!” Maeda offered swiftly. “I’ll make sure you get back unharmed.”

“Thank you, but I’ll be okay. The sun hasn’t set completely yet, so I still have some time.” She wished Maeda a good night and Maeda did the same. The two waving at each other as they left.

Nanami’s house wasn’t too far from the school, but taking the train was still needed. Boarding the last train of the night, she stood for about fifteen minutes before it arrived at her stop. From there, she walked for ten minutes to reach her house. Because of her family owning their own business, Nanami had the luxury of living in an upscale area with a large mansion of a house. It wasn’t nearly as big as the house her father was born in, but from what she’s heard, her parents purchased the house for that very reason.

Nanami entered through the gates and proceeded to towards the front door, which she unlocked, and then stepped inside the house.

“I’m home.” She announced as she carefully took off her shoes and placed them at the entry way.

“Welcome home, Nanami.” She heard her mother say, presumably, from the kitchen. Nanami took her stuff into the kitchen. On the way there, she could smell that dinner was already cooking. They must’ve been having some type of stew for dinner. She could hear the broth boil and the smell of steaming vegetables wafted up to her nose. When she reached the kitchen, she sat down at the table that was horizontal from where her mother stood. Her mother turned to face her upon hearing the chair being drawn back. “How was school?” Nanami took out her homework and began working on it.

“Mediocre.” She answered. “Like any other day.” Her mother hummed and stirred whatever was in the pot on the stove.

“I see. Just a normal day then?”

“Just a normal day.”

“Nothing new?”

“No, ma’am.”

“I see.” Her mother closed off the conversation and focused her attention back to dinner. Nanami’s eyes lingered on her mother a bit longer, though. Her mother was a tall, slender woman. With long legs like Sailor Moon, and a defined waist that gave her a feminine appeal. Her complexion showed no signs of age, making her appear much younger than what she was. Her expression resembled that of the famous Mona Lisa: even with her faint smile and bright eyes, her expression remained unreadable and unfazed. She had the silkiest black hair that was styled so short that her hair didn’t even reach her chin; but, her hair was long enough in the front to frame her face so elegantly. Nanami envied a lot of the features that her mother had, but what she envied most was her eyes. Her mother had blinding, pale blue eyes, resembling that of a husky. They were the same eyes that her mother, Nanami’s grandmother, had. Her mother was a glistening jewel, and yet Nanami had inherited close to nothing from her. If she did inherit something from her mother, it wasn’t noticeable.

Nanami sighed and pushed her insecurities to the side. She still had homework to finish, and it was best that she got it done before dinner. Finishing up a few math problems, she put her math homework away and pulled out a book she had to read. When she opened to the page where she left off, a piece of paper fell out onto the table. Curiosity getting the best of her, she put her book down so that she could pick the paper up. She unfolded it and realized that it was the flier that Shouta had given her. She thought she had put it in her pocket, but it must’ve fallen out and got stuck in her book. She read over the flier again, and that same feeling of guilt overcame her.

“Are you sure it was the same as any other day?” Her mother suddenly asked without turning her head. Nanami peered up at her and saw nothing different with her mother’s expression, but somehow, she knew that she knew. Both of her parents were like that. Somehow, they always knew what was going on. It was like they knew everything. There was never any point in lying to them because they would catch the lie in a heartbeat. Nanami folded the flier back up slowly.

“Actually, I was approached by a boy today.” She began. Her mother stopped stirring and put a lid on the pot.

“A boy, huh?” She acknowledged. She turned to face her daughter. “You know I don’t care, but what will your father say?” Nanami’s face became tinted from the teasing and immediately denied the statement.

“No no, it wasn’t anything like that!” She shook her head, and her mother chuckled.

“I’m kidding, dear.” She apologized. She then sat in the chair in front of Nanami. “What about this boy? Why did he approach you?” Nanami huffed at her mother but forgave her teasing. She straightened her back and looked down at her hands on the table.

“He asked me to help him with something.”

“And did you?” Her mother asked.

“Yes, I did. But, even though I did what I told him I would do, which was just informing people about an event that he wanted to participate in, no one was interested. This event that he wants to be a part of is a team event, you see. And he didn’t have anyone, so he asked me to spread the word. But, like I said, no one wanted to be a part of it.” She looked down, but in a different way. Even though she was looking down at her hands already, she looked down in an ashamed manner. Her mother caught on and sympathized with her daughter.

“You were hoping to get people involved.” She said, predicting her daughter’s emotions.

“I just wanted…I thought someone would want to help him out, but…no one did.”

“Well, it sounds like you want to.” Nanami looked up to her mother rather surprised.

“What do you mean?” She asked. Her mother stood up, going to check on the stew.

“I mean that, from what I’m hearing, it sounds like you really want to help this boy out. I don’t know the details of what he told you, but you seem persistent on telling this boy that someone agreed to commit to this team event. That person might as well be you. You were contemplating participating in what he wants to do anyway, correct? Just to tell him that one person agreed to be a part of his team. If you’re about to ask for my opinion on the case, I say that you’ve already decided on what you needed to do, so you do not require my opinion.” As always, her mother could read her like a book. She didn’t even give any clues as to what she was thinking about telling the boy the next morning. Her mother gave her an all-knowing smile, and Nanami chose to change the subject instead of admitting to her mother that she was correct.

“Where’s dad anyway?” She asked her mother while throwing her book up to pretend like she was reading. Her mother smirked.

“He’s out of town, Nanami. You knew that.” She did know that. She cursed to herself, making her mom snicker. Nanami was never good at changing the subject when the previous conversation was not in her favor. She had to work on that. It seemed like a valuable skill to learn.

She continued to read the book, but she wasn’t processing what she was reading, as her mind was distracted. Should she just join herself? Was that something she was allowed to do? Her mother announced that dinner was ready, and she was forced to put her book down. While she got herself a bowl of what her mother made, she decided to put the subject off until morning. She would have to think about it more before she went to sleep.

Going back a few hours after Nanami agreed to help Shouta, Shouta walked in the opposite direction of Nanami, leaving the school. The sun was still out when he left, and so, to occupy his time and get his brain thinking, he took his Rubik’s cube out of his bag and began to try and solve it. He had solved it many times before, but the challenge was to do it faster than the last time. He solved it once on the way home, so he scrambled it and started over. His mind was stirring as he flipped the parts in the cube left and right like it was second nature. Nanami would give him an answer in the morning, she told him she would. He didn’t know how she would find him, but he supposed she had her ways.

“I wonder what players are interested.” Shouta thought to himself, solving the cube once more and beginning the process all over again. “I still wouldn’t know what position I’d play. That’s a big problem. I can’t be the one that’s falling behind when I’m the one that brought them here in the first place.” As his mind wandered elsewhere, he realized he had stopped messing with the cube, and so he put it back in his bag and replaced it with his notebook and pen. He took both out and turned to the page that he was organizing his thoughts on. “Five players. I need five players, _at least.”_ He went over the positions again to consider which one he would do best. He scratched his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like this! I don’t know what makes each position different! I don’t know what a player needs in order to be in which position!” He sighed. “I feel like I’m not fit for any of these!” He wrote down some scribbles to try and organize his mind, which was in shambles. While he scribbled on the page, that’s when he heard the familiar sound.

Someone was dribbling a basketball.

Getting distracted from the sound, he realized that the area he was at was right next to the park that he lived close to. Recognizing the area, the sound put him in a trance as it lured him away from his usual route.

He had entered the park just the same. There were a few other people there, as it wasn’t too late in the day yet, and a lot of people, like himself, had just gotten out of school. Some kids ran by to go to a swing set and Shouta smiled. He liked being alone, but sometimes having people around was rather nice.

He followed the sound all the way to the basketball court that he had visited before. When he looked up the hill where the court sat, he realized that something was off. There were lots of people here because school had ended for the day, yet there was no one playing the usual basketball game on the court. Instead, there was a single person dribbling and shooting the ball. He cocked his head at the oddity and approached the court with caution. He was curious as to why everyone was ignoring someone hogging up the entire court. That usually wouldn’t fly. He was very wary because of this fact.

When he got to the edge of the fence however, Shouta furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head, perplexed by what he saw. On the basketball court was a boy, surely not much older than himself. He wasn’t much taller than Shouta either. He was for sure taller than him, but not by much. He couldn’t figure out what his body looked like because of the clothes he was wearing, but he assumed by the way that he moved across the court that he was highly athletic. He wore a black shirt, and ripped jeans that weren’t too tight or baggy. They hung loosely around his ankles, signifying that the pant legs were too long. He wore these Nike sneakers that were red, white, blue, and black in color. He couldn’t recall the name of them, but he was sure it was a brand of basketball shoe. The article of clothing that caught Shouta’s eyes the most though was his jacket. It was a simple black jacket, that looked oversized on the guy, but it was covered in all kinds of colorful graffiti. There was white, pink, red, blue, and every other color that could be used. Shouta couldn’t read half of what was written on the jacket, some of the symbols he didn’t even understand. His outfit of choice was strange for sure. It was as if 80s punk rock fashion merged with the present-day stereotypical athlete. Stranger than the boy’s clothes was his complexion. His hair was a dark chocolate brown, cut short and parted in the middle, and his skin was so unbelievably tan. Not ganguro tan either. This guy’s skin reminded Shouta of apple cider. He was sure it was what people would call olive skin. Based on what Shouta could see, the person on the court was so clearly not Japanese and was an obvious foreigner. He realized that the people in the park weren’t ignoring the boy on the court but avoiding him all together. He concluded that it must’ve been because of his complexion.

That was racist in all kinds of ways.

But perhaps the other reason for the entire court being avoided was that the boy on the court was dribbling the ball with an immense amount of force, and his face was contorted in a permanent scowl. Whoever this person was, he was fuming. And the anger that he was putting out was driving everyone away.

But not Shouta.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all I have so far (I just now worked up the guts to post this after writing 2 chapters, hah). I'm curious as to what people think of this. Because, my sister really likes this, and she's my worst critic so.   
> Alright. It's 1:17 am. I'm going to bed. Goodnight. Hope you enjoyed what i have so far.


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